I loved the original, hackneyed and corny as anything; I loved the energy and the way that the song and dances numbers just flowed seamlessly into the story. With this version, it was just people doing a song or a dance. I wouldn't buy a chocolate ice cream off this guy and he was supposed to be convincing a whole town to buy band instruments and uniforms? I know they are all capable and good actors elsewhere - but what happened? It was like someone took the batteries out of them all before they started shooting. Sorry but if it ain't broke, don't fix it - this doesn't work for me at all. Marks for nice hats. Why has no-one done a remake of Sound of Music or Mary Poppins? (well they may have, just no-one has heard of them) Because they are unsurpassable. So was the original Music Man. This was toothless; Robert Preston was a charming villain; this poor man looked bland and terrified. I like Matthew Broderick - or I thought I did - until now. You need to be able to do more than carry a tune or a few steps to remake a classic. Huge disappointment - an outrage in fact.
Review of The Music Man
